Motorola XOOM Torn Apart, 4G LTE Upgrade Should Be Super Simple?

The iFixit crew wasted no time tearing into the Motorola XOOM and confirming that it indeed sports a Tegra 2 along with every other listed spec, but that’s not the story here. When we broke news that the the 4G LTE upgrade for the XOOM would take approximately 6 days, the internet caught fire and people seemed genuinely disappointed in the news. While we’ve known since CES that the device would have to be shipped back to Motorola for the upgrade, most people wondered why it would take almost a week? well, iFixit seems to be wondering the same thing and points out that almost any seasoned tech should be able to perform it…

A seasoned technician can perform this swap in less than 10 minutes. Heck, a donkey could probably pull it off in less than two hours. We have no idea why a customer couldn’t just go to a Verizon store and have on-site representatives enable 4G on the spot, just like they’re able to transfer mobile contacts and perform other activation procedures.

And who knows, maybe Moto and Verizon will get together and train their crews on how easy it could be to upgrade this little guy. After all, they have about 90 days to get everything in order. Or maybe this was part of their agreement? It wouldn’t surprise me if Verizon said, “If you [Motorola] want us to release this device early? Then you are responsible for updating it.”